Oh Father, My Father
by meblack2
Summary: SSA Amelia Ryder has been a part of the BAU for as long as she can remember. Dr. Spencer Reid has been her best friend and, at one point, her lover. But a secret Ryder has carried with her for years has suddenly put him in danger, and she must rely on her team to help her get him back...but to do that, she has to tell everyone the one thing she never wanted to re open: her past.
1. Prologue

SSA Amelia Ryder shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She felt the eyes of her team fixated on her, concerned and accusing all at once. Hotch's mouth thinned into a straight line as he stood up and walked over to her. Amelia lifted her head, looking her unit chief in the eyes.

"Amelia," Hotch said, his expression grim. "You should have told us the second you joined this team."

Amelia bit her lip and looked away. "I wanted to. But dropping something like that….it's not like I could have just dropped it into a conversation. It's something you have to build up to and there is just never a right way to tie it in. Its embarrassing and frightening and I understand the consequences." Her eyes shifted back to Hotch's face, blazing with fire. "But none of that matters now. Reid is missing, and I have to find him. I have to fix what I have done."


	2. Chapter 1

Two days earlier.

_It is easier for a father to have children, than for children to have a real father. Pope John XXIII_

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that the Elder Wand would be the most beneficial Hallow to have," Amelia chirped, perching herself on the edge of SSA Dr. Spencer Reid's desk. The young genius furrowed his brow in confusion, blinking at her response.

"So instead of taking the cloak that can hide you away from your enemies, you'd take a weapon that eventually would get you killed? How does that make sense?" Reid studied his colleague with intrigue. Amelia had joined the BAU with him straight out of Quantico and the two had been inseparable (well, almost inseperable) ever since. Spencer didn't quite understand how Amelia tolerated him half the time. He knew he wasn't exactly the easiest person to keep up with, but she seemed to have no arguments when it came to keeping up with his pace. She was the one person he knew was always there, despite what they had been through.

"I could just use the Elder Wand to eliminate anyone who could be a threat," Amelia laughed, reaching out and pinching Reid's cheek. "Look at you, so cute and innocent and unwilling to use a powerful weapon."

Reid brushed her hand away with a small smile. "I can use a deadly weapon. I just don't like too."

"Yeah, kinda like how you used to not even be able to _fire_ a gun." Amelia hopped off the desk and straddled Reid's lap playfully. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. It wasn't that this was an uncommon action from his friend, it was just the fact that she hadn't done that since she found out about Maeve.

Amelia's face tightened as if she could read his thoughts. With one fluid moment, she swung herself off his lap and sauntered over to her own desk. SSA Derek Morgan smirked at her as she sat down, her mouth set in a firm line.

"Pretty Boy not in the mood today?" He laughed, reaching over and nudging her shoulder with his hand. Amelia stuck her tongue out at him, smiling softly.

"I guess it's still just a little awkward. Maeve's been dead for five months now, but I know he still thinks about her everyday. I don't blame him. It's just frustrating."

Derek nodded, his expression sympathetic. Amelia and Reid had been in a romantic relationship for three years before, for unknown reasons, Amelia ended it. Reid was crushed, and the two of them didn't talk for months. During that time period was when Reid began his communication with Maeve. When Amelia found out about the new girl in her exes life, she grew even angrier with Spencer. Derek and Rossi had eventually interceded, forcing the two of them to sit down and talk about the situation. It was beginning to interfere with their work, and the team was beginning to grow tired of the hostility.

And then, just as they were getting back on good terms, Maeve was abducted. Spencer found Amelia and asked her to help, putting their rekindled friendship to the test.

And then Diane killed Maeve and Reid fell apart in front of Amelia all over again. She caught him as he fell to his knees, sobbing in despair before the body of his dead girlfriend. For weeks she held him as he grieved, until he finally had the strength to come back to work. Their relationship grew stronger in the wake of her death. For Amelia, however, feelings resurfaced that she had tried to choke down.

The fact was, Amelia had never stopped loving Spencer. Not for a single moment.

"It'll all work out in the end," Derek muttered. Amelia shook her head.

"I highly doubt that. What I did last time…" Amelia trailed off as SSA Aaron Hotchner strode into the room.

"Conference room, now." He walked past his team and into his office, snatching a file off his desk.

"This can't be good." Rossi came up behind Amelia, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it in greeting.

"Are any of our cases ever good?" Alex Blake asked, walking past them.

"I wouldn't consider them good, but they are interesting sometimes." Reid blinked, observing the looks of amusement on his friends faces.

"Come on, Boy Genius," Amelia grabbed his hand. "Let's go see what, erm, _interesting _case awaits us today."


	3. Chapter 2

"Yesterday morning, around eight a.m., a body was discovered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial." Penelope Garcia turned to face the screen. "The victim had ligature marks on her wrists and ankles and she was sexually assaulted multiple times. No DNA was left on the body." Garcia shuddered, looking back at the team. "The unsub, however, wasn't finished there. He dressed the body in a police uniform and dumped it in the middle of the night. The unusual part, as if that isn't bad enough, is that he put hazel contacts on the victims eyes and carved the initials A.E.R into the skin on the back of her neck. This morning a similar scene was found in front of the Smithsonian."

"This A.E.R must be a member of some department of law enforcement." JJ looked up from her tablet. "He's obviously dressing the victims to depict her."

"But why dress others like her instead of targeting A.E.R herself?" Amelia tucked her hair behind her ear. "Wouldn't it be less hassle?"

"Maybe he doesn't have the nerves to face the real object of his rage yet," Reid said. "These might just be practice runs."

"There's one more thing you ought to know about the bodies," Garcia interrupted. "Both victims received a poorly done tattoo on their right hip. It appears to represent an owl." She pushed a button on her remote and pulled up the image.

Amelia and Reid both went rigid. Their eyes narrowed as they studied the tattoo, both becoming more distressed by the second.

Derek placed his hand on Amelia's. "Honey, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Amelia said nothing. She couldn't. She was blinking, hoping that she would wake up and see it was all a dream. It had to be. It couldn't be happening again. She had just gotten everything back to normal.

"Ryder?" Hotch studied her calmly. "Ryder, what is it?"

"It's her, Hotch." Reid's voice was quiet and small.

"What do you mean 'it's her'?" Rossi asked.

"I mean, the victims are supposed to be her. The hazel eyes, the uniform…" Reid trailed off.

"Reid, a lot of women in law enforcement have hazel eyes." Hotch shook his head. "Why do you think it's Amelia?"

"Because I've seen that tattoo. It's on her hip." Reid looked down at his hands.

"There's more, Hotch." Amelia focused her gaze on the screen. "Amelia Eleanor Ryder. A.E.R. This unsub is after me." She stood up and walked to the screen, placing her hand on the images. "And I know exactly who it is."


End file.
